PHILADELPHIA & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast, one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information, and communications products and services, announced today it will launch its next-generation television experience, Xfinity TV on the X1 Platform, and a new X1 remote control app in the coming weeks. This cloud-enabled platform, unlike any other video service existing today, delivers the world’s largest collection of video and transforms the TV into an entirely new integrated entertainment experience. These new products will launch in Boston with several major markets planned to follow this year, and will be available to new Xfinity Triple Play with HD/DVR service customers at no additional cost.
“The X1 platform makes the TV smarter, richer and more personalized – and that’s only the beginning. Our goal is to leverage this platform to redefine the entertainment experience for our customers,” said Marcien Jenckes, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Video Services for Comcast Cable.
“X1 is a giant leap forward, essentially transforming our video product from a hardware experience to a software experience, allowing us to innovate faster and more aggressively.”
The X1 platform incorporates IP technology, using cloud servers on Comcast’s network that allow Comcast to integrate interactive, customized apps and social media features with its traditional video services to create an entirely new television experience. This is part of Comcast’s ongoing and evolving effort to take advantage of IP technology to constantly bring new innovation and features to market.
Showcased this week at NCTA’s The Cable Show 2012 in Boston, highlights of X1 include:
- A main screen with a sleek new user interface that integrates a customer’s video experiences and enables one-click access to a highly visual display of entertainment options
- Unified search and instant play, along with recommendations, with the ability to find entertainment content in seconds from TV listings, DVR recordings and Xfinity On Demand using a new smart remote
- Specially tailored-for-TV features such as customized social networking and music, radio, sports, traffic and weather apps
- Equipped with a new hybrid DVR set-top box with tru2way and IP capabilities that delivers an advanced personalized TV viewing experience as well as an enhanced remote control that offers greater responsiveness and does not require a line-of-sight connection to the set-top-box
X1 Remote Control App
The new companion X1 remote control app enables customers to use motion and gesture control to drive their TV experience through the touch-screen of their handheld iPhone and iPod touch. For instance, customers can swipe their device to page through the interactive TV guides on their television screen; program personalized short-cuts and favorites (“Quick Links”) on the TV, and even shake the device to pause On Demand content playing on the television. In addition, customers can use the devices’ virtual keyboard to search among and play tens of thousands of video choices on their TVs faster than ever before – even faster than using the traditional remote control. The remote provides the ability to filter by genre and HD; control the DVR and interact with social media tools and apps.
“The X1 remote app unites the TV screen with customers’ mobile devices by creating an integrated experience between the customers’ swipe controls on their device and the viewing experience on the TV – they truly mirror each other,” said Sree Kotay, Senior Vice President and Chief Software Architect for Comcast Cable. “By building this new app, we’ve made the remote control smarter and more functional…and just plain fun.”
X1 (formerly Xcalibur) has been in customer trials in Augusta, Ga., since 2011.
About Comcast Cable
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.
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